Anneliese Kohlmann

Anneliese Kohlmann (23 March 1921 – 17 September 1977) was a German SS guard at the Neugraben and Hamburg-Tiefstack subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp during World War II. Born in Hamburg, she joined the Nazi Party in 1940 and was conscripted into the SS-Gefolge in 1944. As a guard, she was accused of physically abusing prisoners, including whipping and kicking them. Kohlmann, a self-identified lesbian, also engaged in a coercive relationship with a Czech Jewish prisoner, involving sexual barter.

After the liberation of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945, Kohlmann was arrested while disguised as a prisoner and tried for war crimes at the Belsen trials in 1946. She was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Following her release, she worked as a truck driver in Hamburg and later West Berlin, where she lived until her death in 1977.

Kohlmann's actions at Bergen-Belsen, including her role in burying victims' bodies, were documented in widely published photographs. Her story, particularly her relationship with the prisoner, has been depicted in the play Under the Skin by Yonatan Calderon.

Biography

Early life Anneliese Kohlmann was born on 23 March 1921 in Hamburg, Germany, to a poor single mother. At the age of four, she was adopted by Margaretha and Georg Kohlmann. Her father, Georg Kohlmann, a teacher and Freemason, was employed at a home for Freemasons in Hamburg. Her mother, Margaretha, testified in court that her daughter was raised according to Christian values: they regularly attended church together on Sundays. During this period, she openly acknowledged her attraction to women. Despite this, she became engaged to a man in November 1943. At the time, she worked as a streetcar attendant in Hamburg until November 1944. She served at Neugraben until February 1945. Whilst working in the concentration camps she had a relationship with a Czech Jewish prisoner called Lotte and organised postings to follow her from camp to camp. The inmate engaged in coerced sexual barter with Kohlmann (this may or may not have included sexual acts A survivor named Věra Fuchsová recalled in a 1994 interview that:

Survivor Edith Kraus recalled that: In 1946, Kohlmann was tried for war crimes at the Belsen trials in Lüneburg. condemning at least one female prisoner to punishment of 30 lashes for a piece of stolen bread, and sexually exploiting younger women. due to her short service in the SS and her defense claim that she did not kill anyone. Kohlmann also claimed that she helped four women escape during the transport to Bergen-Belsen. ), Kohlmann remained in Hamburg. She worked as a truck driver and moved to West Berlin in 1965. On 17 September 1977, Kohlmann died in Berlin at the age of 56.

In popular culture

Kohlmann is known as one of the SS female camp guards at Bergen-Belsen who, following the camp's liberation, was ordered to help bury the bodies of victims in mass graves, a scene photographed by George Rodger and widely published, including in Life magazine. Kohlmann is one of the main characters in the play Under the Skin by Israeli playwright Yonatan Calderon. The play depicts a love affair between a lesbian Nazi commander (Kohlmann) and one of her female Jewish prisoners.